A treasure map. It could certainly pass for one.
There were circles and crosses, and various characters scrawled across it.
Agaro groaned.
"A treasure map, huh?"
"Look, it says 'treasure' right here in ancient Edda script."
"Ancient Edda?"
There were symbol-like markings at the circled spots, but those were in ancient Edda?
"Without a doubt. It's a treasure map!"
Narcissus crossed her arms, brimming with confidence.
Agaro sighed.
"Of all people. That bald bastard."
"U-Um, Lord Wof. Is this a treasure map?"
"Looks like it."
"Huh?"
My honest reaction was exactly that "Huh?"
I'd learned various ancient scripts from the witch. But ancient Edda was one thing I simply couldn't read.
Could Higharn have read it, I wonder.
So even if it is a treasure map—well, it's low priority, but we can't do anything if we don't know the location.
"Floor 44."
"What?"
"There's a scribbled note on the edge of the map that says 'Floor 44.'"
"...It's real."
The writing's a bit messy, but it's regular script. I can read this.
But why is only this part in regular script?
"Um, over here it says 'Ruins of Avusdrakudu'!"
"Na!"
Avus...? Is that the name of the ruins?
"Either way, it's saying the place we want to go is right there."
"The inspection team and their guards might be there too."
"They could be zombies by now..."
He mutters without much conviction. Hard to tell if he's joking.
I almost laughed, but then a thought occurred to me.
"...Agaro. Quick question—when you die in a dungeon, do you always become a zombie?"
I ask. I'd gotten a bit curious. Why had they all become zombies?
Was becoming a zombie after death just a given thing?
"Not every corpse becomes a zombie. There are conditions for zombification. First is necromancers—a necromancer turns corpses into zombies or ghouls. Second is the location. Depending on where you die, you might end up a zombie or ghoul. Those are the two I know of."
"So our enemy is a necromancer, then?"
I could hear the excitement bubbling through Narcissus's words.
"But fundamentally, undead don't come out of their own undead floors."
"Um, um, um, I heard that among Relic jobs, there seems to be one called 'Necromancer.'"
"Oh, I've heard of that too."
So something like that exists. Maybe the Witch would have known about it.
"So the enemy really is a necromancer!"
Narcissus was in high spirits.
Agaro agreed while letting his exasperation show on his face.
"That's the most likely possibility, isn't it?"
"Um, um, I think so too, as a possibility!"
Juicy apparently thought so as well. The enemy is a necromancer... huh.
If that were the case, what would the goal be? Agaro spoke while thinking.
"The bandits I once failed to wipe out were hiding in a dungeon, and one of their comrades was a necromancer. But they turned on each other..."
"What an interesting story."
"Is it?"
"Um, um, yes. The logic holds up, I think."
"So it does. And then the 'Lid of Tartarus' members who were on inspection or guard duty got caught up in it somehow."
The pieces fit together. But then what were the sahuagin about?
"...Anyway, let's go to the forty-fourth floor. Agaro, where's the transfer circle on the fortieth floor?"
"It's this way."
There was a door on the opposite side.
"Before we go..."
I noted down the treasure map and pulled the memory stick.
It might come in handy somewhere. I could also sell it to Arifa or hand it over to the witch.
When I opened the door, a staircase continued downward. At the bottom was a corridor.
The corridor was sterile and featureless, with darkness ahead. I sent a light orb forward to illuminate it.
"Sahuagin or zombies might show up. Shouldn't be hard, but don't let your guard down. Especially you, Narcissus."
"What do you mean? Like I'd ever get taken out by trash mobs!"
Narcissus got offended, huffing indignantly.
Agaro continued in his usual calm manner.
"Zombies are contagious. Even a scratch can infect you."
Incidentally, ghouls are contagious too.
"What do you mean? I'm not going to get scratched!"
"Seriously…"
"That kind of carelessness is how you end up as a zombie."
I couldn't help but chime in.
Well, even if we got hurt, we had elixirs, so it'd be fine.
And before that, Danger Discernment would let us know before any enemy struck.
But Narcissus tends to get cocky right away, so a little wake-up call like this was necessary.
Truly, underestimating enemies because you're strong and assuming it'll be easy can lead to dropping your guard. It really does happen.
And sometimes that costs you your life. Lesson learned from experience.
"If Wof says so, then I'll be careful."
Suddenly getting all agreeable. Agaro looked at me with an indescribable expression.
"You..."
"What? I didn't do anything."
If anything, I was the one who had something done to me.
Juicy also cast a suspicious glance my way.
"Um, woof. Do you follow Master Wof?"
"Why did you just bark?"
"Wof?"
Since the scolding was done, we pressed on.
Several zombies had attacked, and there were sahuagin corpses on the ground.
They seemed to have been attacked by zombies, but they hadn't turned into zombies themselves.
"They're completely hostile to each other."
"Doesn't matter which ones are enemies. We're wiping them both out!"
How violent. Juicy voiced a question.
"Um, uh, like, can dungeon monsters really be hostile to each other?"
"Normally, no. But there are exceptions. It's an event."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Narcissus tilted her head.
Agaro was utterly exasperated.
"You... That's the one thing a first-class delver must never say."
"I don't know what I don't know!"
"From now on, even once a week is fine — just go delving."
"No way!"
"Narcissus. Let's go delving."
"If Wof says so, then fine."
She agreed without the slightest hesitation.
Seriously, Agaro. Stop looking at me like that.
"You really are..."
"Really are what? There's seriously nothing going on."
"So what's an event, anyway?"
"Ugh, listen up and remember this. An event is a phenomenon where something that once happened aboveground — an accident, a crime, an occurrence — gets recreated inside the dungeon using its monsters and ruins. It happens from time to time."
An event.
The man-made structures found inside dungeons reproduce buildings and ruins that once existed on the surface.
In the same way, on rare occasions, accidents, crimes, and other incidents get recreated within the dungeon.
I once saw a herd of chimeras in a fire dungeon reenact a mass escape.
That was solved by Alexander, an expert on land catfishing and a former First-Class Delver.
"So you're saying there's a chance this is an event?"
"Yeah, could be."
"Now that's interesting!"
"Maybe. Listen — don't forget. Our commission is to locate the inspector and their escort. Not to solve the event."
"What do you mean? You're not gonna do anything?"
"We were in the middle of talking. But there's a high chance we've already gotten caught up in the event. No, we're definitely caught up in it. So I feel like we've gotta solve that too, along with everything else. Probably how it'll go."
"Yeah…"
"Um, um, yes. I think so too!"
"Right!"
Narcissus replied with way too much enthusiasm. She probably doesn't get it.
An event, huh.
I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this.
Carrying that dark mood with us, we found the teleportation circle room on the 40th floor, and we teleported.
40th floor.
I opened the door and proceeded down a stone corridor that screamed "dungeon."
Narcissus got tangled in a tripwire and ended up hanging upside down, so I rescued her.
Encountered an undead skeleton and defeated it.
Continued down the corridor.
Narcissus nearly fell into a pitfall trap, so I caught her.
Encountered an undead ghost and defeated it.
Continued further down the corridor.
Narcissus got snagged on a ceiling trap, so I rescued her.
Encountered an undead mummy and defeated it.
Continued even further down the corridor.
An arrow flew from the side and nearly hit Narcissus.
Encountered an undead skeleton rider and defeated it.
Continued even further down the corridor.
Narcissus was drawn to an overly fancy treasure chest and nearly got eaten by a mimic.
Encountered an undead zombie puppet and defeated it.
Continued even further and further down the corridor.
A spear flew from the side and Narcissus caught it.
An undead—what even is this thing? Way too cold. Well, defeated it.
And off to floor 41.